AN ASPIRING personal trainer who overcame her battle with an eating disorder and poor mental health is now aiming to help others.
Ellie Simon, of Worsbrough, said she has been interested in fitness for many years, but decided she wanted to educate herself after struggling with personal problems and a borderline eating disorder.
The 22-year-old started on her route to become a personal trainer last year and has been writing a blog about her fitness journey to help others.
Ellie said since she has shared her story, she has had lots of feedback from people saying they have been ‘inspired’ to start exercising themselves.
“The main reason that got me into my fitness journey to becoming a personal trainer was mainly to educate myself as my poor mentality towards nutrition made me a different person,” said Ellie. “It made me snappy towards the people closest to me and caused me to feel dizzy in the gym - that dizzy that I would be squatting with a barbell and wouldn’t be able to get back up and fell.
“My confidence was at rock bottom.”
As well as struggling with her confidence, Ellie also battled with an eating disorder last year and had problems with her mental health. However, now she said she’s in a better place and is even offering fitness plans to help others.
“My battles with mental health have gone from one extreme to the other,” said Ellie.
“From only eating one meal a day, feeling starving and burning every calorie off - looking back now this was a borderline eating disorder - to then going through something in my personal life that led me to no longer go to the gym. I would eat out constantly and go out drinking every weekend because it was the only way I felt happy.
“Months down the line this resulted in me putting weight on. My hair, personality, skin and body all changed. I wasn’t me anymore. I was so stressed and unhappy with the way I looked and felt.
“I just couldn’t seem to get out of the mental state I was in. Whatever I did I always felt like I couldn’t get out of this constant battle with my mind and I always felt unhappy.”
Ellie said applying to become a personal trainer has ‘changed her life’ and has helped her overcome her eating disorder and helped her mental health. She said she now feels comfortable in her own skin and has gone from having panic attacks when she was alone to enjoying time by herself.
“I’ve changed physically as I look a lot more healthy,” she said. “However, my biggest change has been mentally. I am now in a place where I’m happy which has resulted in me feeling myself again - I’m no longer snappy to the people closest to me and I’m no longer in a bad place.”
Ellie said the feedback she has received from discussing her journey online via her website ellieelitefitness.com has kept her motivated on her journey and she wants to inspire others. Her website is also part of her business Ellie Elite Fitness, where she sells nutrition and training plans cheaply.
“Becoming a personal trainer is the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said.
“Not only has it taught me a lot but it’s given me the opportunity to become more ambitious and finally put myself first.
I’ve had the opportunity to not only make myself feel better, but to improve other people’s lives too. I love what I do and I love that I’m inspiring others too.”
